# Khoomtai Man vs State of Assam and Others

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0005](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0005)

## Report card

By judgment dated 6 May 2009 in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 25 of 2008, the Gauhati High Court (Coram: Jasti Chelameswar, Hrishikesh Roy, JJ.) returned findings adverse to 3 police personnel, namely: Assistant Sub-Inspector (In-charge), Khoomtai Police Out Post, Kamargaon PS, Golaghat; Additional Superintendent of Police (HQ), Golaghat; Superintendent, District Jail, Golaghat, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000).

- Register number: AS 05 CW 0001
- Case reference: Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 25 of 2008 / (2009) 05 GAU CK 0013
- Court and date: Gauhati High Court (Coram: Jasti Chelameswar, Hrishikesh Roy, JJ.), 6 May 2009
- Officer(s) at the material time: Assistant Sub-Inspector (In-charge), Khoomtai Police Out Post, Kamargaon PS, Golaghat; Additional Superintendent of Police (HQ), Golaghat; Superintendent, District Jail, Golaghat
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract): “the death of a Khoomtai man, while in the custody of the State, does not appear to be a natural death and there is an utter failure on the part of the respondent officers of the State in protecting the …” (at para 15)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: imprisonment and fine. Compensation: Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000).
- Present status of the proceedings: No further proceedings are recorded in the cited sources; the judgment is the concluded position shown.
- Source orders: [Judgment / order (primary source)](https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/416204/swagmoni-boraik-appellant-hash-state-of-assam-and-others-respondent/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0005)

**Record:** CW-2009-0005 (compiler id CWC-0036); case ASSAM-023
**Title:** Khoomtai Man vs State of Assam and Others
**Court:** Gauhati High Court; judges: Jasti Chelameswar; Hrishikesh Roy
**Case number / citation:** Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 25 of 2008 / (2009) 05 GAU CK 0013
**Judgment:** 2009-05-06 (2009, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2007-05-12 (2007)
**Place:** Golaghat, Assam; city town: Khoomtai; police station or unit: Khoomtai Police Out Post, Kamargaon Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** IPC 302; IPC 34; IPC 201
**Officers (gated display forms):** Assistant Sub-Inspector (In-charge), Khoomtai Police Out Post, Kamargaon PS, Golaghat; Additional Superintendent of Police (HQ), Golaghat; Superintendent, District Jail, Golaghat (3 in record)
**Victims:** Khoomtai man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** mixed; Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000)
**Sentence type:** mixed (mixed)

The Gauhati High Court held Assam Police and jail authorities responsible for the custodial death of a Khoomtai man, arrested on 12 May 2007 by Khoomtai outpost police though no FIR named him, and dead in Golaghat jail on 5 June 2007. The Court found all police records of his detention tampered with or fabricated, with arrest-related general diary entries made months after his death, and held the death in State custody was not natural. It awarded Rs 3,00,000 public-law damages to his mother, wife and minor son, recoverable from the officers, and directed registration of a criminal case under Sections 302/34 and 201 IPC. Shri \[name withheld\], from whom the court directed recovery of part of the Rs 3,00,000 compensation in equal proportion, is the Superintendent of the District Jail, Golaghat (prisons department), not a police officer. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> the death of a Khoomtai man, while in the custody of the State, does not appear to be a natural death and there is an utter failure on the part of the respondent officers of the State in protecting the life and liberty of deceased \[name withheld\].

**Sources (1):** [courtkutchehry.com](https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/416204/swagmoni-boraik-appellant-hash-state-of-assam-and-others-respondent/)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** custodial_death
**allegations:** {'category': 'Custodial death', 'primary': True, 'position': 'Material fact supported', 'position_explainer': 'Reliable material supports a specifically documented fact relevant to that allegation, not necessarily the full allegation, causation, intent, unlawfulness, or responsibility.', 'official_finding_relation': 'supports allegation'}
**anonymised:** False
**court quote para:** 15
**display title redacted:** Khoomtai Man vs State of Assam and Others
**followup history:** {'date': '2026-09-19', 'scope': 'Round-8 full re-verification: published record re-checked against the judgment text (outcome, officers, quote, key facts) plus methodology-compliance pass', 'method': 'skills-guided adversarial re-verification of the published record against the judgment text (reverify/t1-*/adversarial-8.jsonl)', 'result': 'holds', 'corrections_applied': \['court_quote_para'\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2009-05-06', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Gauhati High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Gauhati High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 300,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(2009) 05 GAU CK 0013', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/416204/swagmoni-boraik-appellant-hash-state-of-assam-and-others-respondent/', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** custodial death
**tier:** Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded
**tier badge:** Externally reported
**tier history:** Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded
**verdict:** accept
**verdict note:** Custodial death with fabricated records; Rs 3L damages plus murder-case direction against ASI and jail staff.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2009-0005](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0005)